Duke 74, Maryland 83 (FINAL): Seth Curry’s timely three-pointer from the top of the key brough Duke within six points. On Duke’s next possession, Thornton had two very good looks from beyond the arc, but he could not hit it—the story of tonight for Duke. Maryland, meanwhile, continued to play aggressively and make the Blue Devils pay at the charity stripe to pull off the upset for the Terrapins.

Duke 62, Maryland 69 (3:26, second half): The cold shooting continues for the Blue Devils. Thornton missed badly on an open trey from the wing and later Kelly failed to convert on a three-point attempt from the left wing. Maryland continues to play aggressively and has Duke on its heels down the stretch. Two free-throws by Curry and a lay-up by Cook brought Duke within nine points. Two more free-throws, another nifty lay-up by Cook and lay-up by Plumlee have reduced the Terps’ lead to just seven points. Wells comes up limping before the media timeout for Maryland.

Duke 52, Maryland 59 (7:39, second half): Like he did in the first half, ‘Sheed is showing offensive aggression. He now has two second-half buckets, giving him 16 points on the evening.

But Maryland took advantage of a mismatch on a switch, allowing Nick Faust to hit an open 3-pointer and opening the lead back up to seven. After Hairston responded with two free throws, Alex Len threw home a slam, putting the Terrapin fans back on their feet.

Duke is showing hustle, but they still can’t make their shots. Now 2-of-16 from beyond the arc. Much different game if they’re hitting a normal percentage, which would be closer to six or seven made shots in that many attempts.

Duke 46, Maryland 50 (11:51, second half): Though it’s a bit strange ‘Sheed didn’t play for the first 4:51 minutes of the half, Thornton made a key layup, bringing Duke within two, the first time since early in the first half Duke has been that close.

‘Sheed eventually checked in for Cook with 15:09.

The Blue Devils brought the game within one after a three-point play from Kelly, making the score 45-44. That’s when the Duke fans got loud. They got loud once again after Plumlee hit two free throws to again bring the game within one. Plumlee now leads the Blue Devils with 13 points, six of which have come off emphatic dunks.

Plumlee looked like he tied the game at one point, but the bucket was whistled back for a charge.

Duke still is cold from beyond the arc, going just 2-of-15. Curry is 1-for-5, Kelly is 0-for-4.

Hairston is 0-for-2 on midrange jumpers.

Duke 37, Maryland 41 (16:43, second half): It looked like the half was off to a good start when Mason Plumlee made a hook shot, but Maryland responded with five unanswered points.

But in what could be the turning point of this game, Curry nailed a 3-pointer and was fouled, converting for the four-point play and bringing the Blue Devils within six. That got the Duke fans on their feet. Curry and Kelly need to get going for this game to even up.

Seth then hit a jumper to bring Duke within four, forcing Mark Turgeon to call a timeout.

Notable that ‘Sheed, after scoring 12 in the first half, didn’t start this half. He hasn’t checked in yet either. Thornton started the game, but after such a strong performance, you’d think ‘Sheed might be rewarded with some minutes.

Duke 26, Maryland 34 (HALFTIME): A sign of change toward the end of the half? Thornton got on the board with his first points and Duke’s first 3-pointer of the game, bringing Duke within four. Faust responded with a trey on the ensuing possession, but a three for Duke is bigger than one for Maryland—the Blue Devils need to get hot from beyond the arc to atone for their early game struggles.

Overall now, the Terrapins are 6-of-13 from beyond the arc, Duke is 1-for-10, closing the half out with a missed trey by Cook.

‘Sheed added another jumper and now has 12 points off the bench. Think he starts in the second half?

Key halftime stats:

• Duke 10-of-30 (33%) from the field.
• Duke 1-of-10 (10%) from 3-point range, Maryland 6-of-13 (46.2%).
• 0 points for Seth Curry.
• Rasheed Sulaimon 4-of-8 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
• Dez Wells with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

Duke 21, Maryland 28 (3:01, first half): Ryan Kelly became the next Blue Devil to get on the board with an acrobatic and-one, finishing a no-look layup through contact and hitting the foul shot. That brought the Blue Devils within nine, then Cook hit a floater to bring the game within seven, energizing the Duke crowd.

Naturally, Dez Wells responded with the game’s next points, though Plumlee put home his second slam of the night to keep it within seven.

Both teams really worked frantically in transition for a few consecutive possessions, though neither team was able to convert. In that span, Kelly missed another 3-pointer–he’s now 0-for-3 from deep. Overall, Duke is 0-for-7 on 3-pointers. That has to change from them to turn this game around.

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